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At loss in web design

First i would like to state i know i make alot of errors but plese bare with me.

here is my issue i am a developer meaning i do C++,php,javascript and that is what i really like being able to use logic to solve problems but recently i thaught to give the freelance thing a try(im 17). Thing id thogh i am not new to html and or css and how they are used i just cannot seem to get my sites to look great and trust me i have read alot to help. what makes it worse i see sites that i know take less effort than what i do but by far look better. i use to think if i knowed how to get all my divs where i wanted them i could do anything seems i was wrong.

I mostly do raw codeing but have tried photoshop and hated it, tried fireworks and love it(well it makes doing the layout easier than refreshing the page in notedpad or dreamweaver)

Links deleted by Administrator at OP's request

those are some that i have alredy done

can any great deigner or decent handcoder help me out what is it i need to improve or is it something i just dont have.

They look like decent sites to me. What exactly is your problem? Do you have a technical problem, or is it a matter of not having the inspiration that you would like to have?

I dont think its a technical problem as far as coding and coding issues go google has been my friend and i'm sure im at least proficient in that. I just have not been able to make the sites look as profetional as i would like. i have spent days since this post researchimg how to use fonts,color ect. and to understand as a developer what is my target audience and how my design should appeal to that target. I am yet to try something since then but if you have any advice at all any secrets/techniques or resourcces you would like to shear i would be extremly gratefull. i think the most comfeting i have heard so far is that U.I design is not art but a form of programming

Thank you and what i meant to say is that being a developer by nature the most comferting to i have heard in my struggles to learn how to design websites is that doing so is a form of programming rather than art

Your samples are interesting. At 17, black background may seem psychedelic and dramatic, but a softer neutral color would be more functional in most cases. The point is that, when you have real content and a target market, the basic purpose of a developer should be to deliver that content i a functional manner. The design shuld enhance the content, not distract from it

You might enjoy trying to develop "responsive" layouts that can transition from desktop screens to mobile devices.

To be a successful designer you need both artistic talent and technical know-how. And a few more things, such as knowing where/how to find clients.

I havent had problem finding clients. but i have had makeing something they like. I work for dirt so thats the thing

Originally Posted by auntnini

Your samples are interesting. At 17, black background may seem psychedelic and dramatic, but a softer neutral color would be more functional in most cases. The point is that, when you have real content and a target market, the basic purpose of a developer should be to deliver that content i a functional manner. The design shuld enhance the content, not distract from it

You might enjoy trying to develop "responsive" layouts that can transition from desktop screens to mobile devices.

i have been triying with that whole 960 grid system. But you have a point might as well learn both at the same time they have various methods to do this however. i did not really consider the thing with the pink guids tht auto adjust i dont really like working with things that have been............too pre-made. i suppose that is dumb though why re-invent the wheel is that the method you were reffering to?

Then you need a different strategy. You should give your clients two choices:

The client draws his site, on paper or otherwise, or otherwise makes clear how their site should look. You should give them the address I gave you so that they can get ideas.

The client leaves the design up to you, but then you should work on an hourly basis rather than on a contract basis (correct English term?).

i often encourage them to do it in photoshop and then ill build it but most of my clients are people who just know thery want a website that tells the world about what they do....so usually im on my own. And yes that is the correct english

well i feel even more lost now i really dont think any progress has been made my designs still look amateurish.i havent convered this into a webpage as yet but here is what i did in fireworks.
any advice ?snow2.fw.jpg

sorry about the low quality it was in png and this uploader must have converted it... here is the original wireframe i made on mockflow given the fireworks limitations this is how it should have looked on the web plus color and headersnow_Page_1.png